Surviving the blizzard of '13

The blizzard of 2013 kept many people inside for two days, as the governor ordered a travel ban for all but essential personnel.

Clinton Police said that two drivers were stopped during the travel ban, but that was for other offenses. None of the other local towns reported travel ban violators being stopped.

While clean-up efforts continued into the week, the empty roads ensured local Departments of Public Works were able to clear roads enough for school to resume Monday.

Major events — including Clinton's Daddy Daughter Dance, Lancaster's Winter Festival and the Wachusett Reservoir Art Path — were postponed from Saturday to Sunday. Other events will be held within the next couple of weeks.

How do you prepare for such an event? Most people were concerned about being stuck inside their houses, with a potential of up to three feet of snow, high winds and power outages.

At the start of the storm, The Item posed that question to “friends” on Facebook and received over 70 responses.

Gas, for generators and snow blowers, was also popular, as was having children capable of shoveling.

Some people stocked up on beer, vodka, wine, Baileys, movies and books on their Kindles.

Not everyone had snow days. In addition to plow operators, police and firefighters, employees at Clinton Hospital had to report for duty, with some putting in extra time.

“In preparation for the storm, our management team met Thursday and Friday to ensure contingency plans were in place in anticipation of any adverse onsite events, such as power outages, and to secure sufficient staff coverage for the duration of the storm,” said Karen Plainte, vice president of quality and resource management at Clinton Hospital. “We are so proud of our colleagues, who really rose to the occasion and made extra efforts to be sure our patients were safe and well cared for. To avoid getting stuck in the storm, many employees voluntarily came to the hospital ahead of schedule and rested before their shifts began. Some employees, who worked overnight, stayed on to be sure we had adequate staffing and to get some rest before driving home in the morning.

“Ten employees, including physicians, nurses, CNAs, dietary and lab staff, and respiratory therapists, stayed overnight at the hospital, sleeping in open patient beds, on stretchers in our Ambulatory Care Department and in sleeping bags on office floors. Our dietary department also provided complimentary nourishment for all of our overnight guests, including patients and staff members,” Plainte said.

Some things went above and beyond medicine, Plainte said.

“Our facilities manager and his team did a great job and helped visitors and employees shovel and clean snow off their cars. According to our nursing supervisor, Deb Farraher-Hyman, the blizzard brought out the best in everyone and morale was high. I'm even told that a few snowballs may or may not have been tossed around the parking lot.”

The hospital staff could not have done it alone, Plainte said.

“We would like to thank the Clinton Fire Department and Clinton Police Department for their support during the storm and for helping to safely transport some staff members to the hospital,” Plainte said, adding that Vital Emergency Medical Services had a crew based at the hospital throughout the storm to ensure advanced life support (ALS) ambulance transportation services were available to patients, if needed. “And, finally, the local DPW plow operators did a fantastic job of keeping the hill and streets around the hospital clear for our patients and employees. It really takes a village to manage through a storm of this size.”

Not all events were canceled.

Emily and Patrick Conner got married on Friday, Feb. 8, in Clinton's Central Park. The time was around noon, with the snow already coming down pretty well. Emily, who sent a photo of the couple in response to a Facebook request for storm photos, said the ceremony was beautiful.